Epilogue
Gordon
“Yay! It’s finally Halloween.”
Gordon groaned. He’d heard those words at least fifteen times since breakfast and they seemed to get louder each time. Their Littles hadn’t even gone trick-or-treating yet but were hyped up as if they’d eaten an entire crop of candy corn.
“Hurry up, Daddy, we don’t want to be late for lunch!”
Gordon shook his head as he adjusted his shirt. “Are you sure we’re supposed to be wearing costumes already? I thought the party wasn’t until this evening.”
“That’s the barn party. Today is Halloween and everyone celebrates all day ! Isn’t it amazing?”
“But to eat lunch? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get something on your costume?”
“Nope, but we have to hurry. Hayleigh said her Daddy was making mummy dogs!”
“What, pray tell, is a mummy dog?”
The question had Lori going silent and looking over to her big brother. “Blake, do you know what a mummy dog is? Oh… they’re not… not real?—”
“No,” Blake said before she could verbalize what would most likely conjure visions neither one of them wish to consider, especially after it got dark. “They are just hot dogs wrapped in strips of phyllo dough that make them look mummy-like. They’re almost as good as dino nuggets.”
Gordon could tell his Little girl was very relieved at Blake’s explanation when she began to bounce up and down on her toes.
“Mommy, please tell Daddy…”
Before she could finish her plea, Gordon turned toward her, holding his arms out straight as boards in front of him as he began to stomp his feet, rocking from side to side as if every joint was frozen. “Arrrggghhh!”
“Nooo!” Lori squealed and turned to flee, only to run into her Mommy. “Save me from the mummy, Mommy!”
“Daddy, I believe you’re channeling Frankenstein and not The Mummy,” Beverly said.
“Are you sure?” Gordon’s arms dropped and he gave an exaggerated moan of disappointment.
“I’d think our Mommy would be the expert on mummies,” Blake said, then grinned. “Right, Lisa?”
His Daddy chuckled and scooped up Lori as she looked between the other three.
“Is anyone ever gonna tell me who this Lisa is?”
“No time for stories, sweetpea. We don’t want to be late for lunch, now, do we?” Gordon said as they piled out of the cottage and into his car.
As they drove through the Ranch gates, he shook his head. He’d never seen so many decorations in his life and had positively stated that not another single thing could be added anywhere. That had been a week ago. It had taken exactly one day to prove him wrong as more popped up every day. New jack-o-lanterns were added daily to the steps and railings of the porch to the point that when he glanced over, he had to admit they were beginning to unnerve him a bit. The LED candles placed inside each one flickered, making jagged teeth and skewed eyes appear far too sinister for his comfort.
If the carved pumpkins weren’t enough, it seemed that every bush within a five-mile radius had been invaded by a mutant hoard of arachnids. Webs were spun in bushes, spanned branches of trees, draped from the corners of the front porch. And what lives in webs? Spiders. Though these weren’t just your regular spiders which always made his heart beat a bit faster. Nope, these spiders were the size of his head, many with glittering red dots on their bellies or brown hour-glasses on their backs. In case those two definitive markings weren’t enough to warn you not to come too close, the five-inch fangs dripping with venom would most certainly do the trick.
When he’d mentioned the fact that maybe some of the scariest web inhabitants as well as a few of the most frightening jack-o-lanterns should be discreetly removed so as not to scare the Littles, Beverly had laughed and asked him who the heck he thought had placed all those spiders into their webbed homes and carved the lovely pumpkins.
So many skeletons hung from branches of trees that it looked like an entire cemetery’s occupants had abandoned their final resting places to dance on the wind. The first time he’d walked outside and seen one glow in the dark, he’d almost fallen off the porch. While Beverly smiled and explained they were painted with something that soaked up the sunlight and allowed them to glow at night, Lori and Blake had a giggle fest that lasted far too long in his opinion. When they began to jump out from behind furniture, around corners, and pop out of doorways, he’d warned that the next time they shrieked “boo” in his face, he’d show them how well he could make their bottoms glow without the use of phosphorescent materials. It had only taken Blake witnessing him doing exactly that when Lori decided to test their Daddy’s word to have the heart-attack-inducing pranks come to a screeching halt.
The decorations didn’t end outside either. As he held the door open for his family to enter the lodge, he knew he’d see drawings hanging in every hallway. What he hadn’t expected was to enter the lodge and find not a single person lined up for these supposedly spectacular mummy dogs. Instead, what appeared to be every person on the Ranch was standing facing toward him and his family. He looked at Beverly to see she appeared as puzzled as he felt.
“Are we too late for lunch?” he asked.
Lori was bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. “Surprise! He won!”
“Who won?” Beverly asked before he could.
“Blake! His drawing of us won the major prize! Master Derek is gonna put it up so everyone can see it anytime they come into the lobby! Isn’t that awesome!”
Gordon and Beverly exchanged a look that told him they were both thinking of the sketches drawn up every Saturday. Evidently, their boy was a better mind reader than his Mommy or Daddy because as he started to walk across the lobby, he called out, “Don’t worry, we’re not all naked in this one.”
While everyone within hearing either raised an eyebrow, chuckled or giggled, Gordon quietly asked Beverly to identify the man with the huge grin and very blue eyes standing beside Derek.
“That’s Gavin Doyle, he’s one of Megan’s Daddies.”
“One?” Gordon asked.
“Yes. Hunter is Gavin’s husband and Megan’s second Daddy.” Beverly discreetly pointed to where a cute Little stood beside a Big wearing glasses and a huge smile. “Gavin uses Landon as his last name for his work. He’s quite the famous artist. Every time he offers art classes, they are filled before he finishes listing the dates. Blake just loves him.”
Gordon stood completely awestruck as he watched Blake shake Gavin’s hand before accepting a frame from his idol. He then passed it to Master Derek who placed it on an easel in front of the check-in desk. At Blake’s nod of approval, Derek stepped aside so the winning drawing could be seen.
While they most certainly were not naked, the four people in the picture couldn’t be mistaken for anyone but the four people standing before the drawing. In fact, it was a bit like looking in a mirror as Gordon looked down at his costume, back to the painting and then at each of the other three. Live or inanimate, the groups of four wore exactly the same thing. Cavalier hats of black were on each head. On one side, the brim had been pinned up and trimmed with an ostrich plume. Pants were tucked into knee-high boots.
While Gordon and his family’s swords were presently in scabbards on their belts, those in the drawing were unsheathed and lifted, the points touching in the air to form a single point. Beverly wore a cape the color of the merlot he’d drunk with dinner the night before. Lori’s was pink and her blonde curls swirled around her as if caught in a gale-force wind. Gordon was in a green the color of the trees in the woods where he and Blake walked, and the artist was in a royal blue. Every detail was incredibly realistic.
Blake was sandwiched between Gavin and Derek, his eyes bright and his cheeks slightly pink, but it was his crooked grin that had Gordon’s heart skip a beat as Derek called for everyone’s attention. Gordon felt Beverly’s clasp on his fingers tighten. Her smile said it all. She was as proud of their Little boy as he was.
After everyone had quieted, Derek nodded to Gavin who stepped forward. When he realized his student hadn’t followed, he reached out and dropped his arm around Blake’s shoulders, drawing him closer.
“As you know, besides my husband Hunter and our Little Megan, I don’t believe there’s anything better than expressing oneself with art. It doesn’t matter what form it takes, but using your skill to portray moments, places, and people who have touched our hearts in some way gives the piece a spirit, a life of its own. I love nothing more than to watch my students discover what it is that speaks to their souls. Blake, I can’t tell you how very proud I am of you. There is no question that this piece is more than charcoal and paint, it is a part of you. It gives me great pleasure to declare you as the winner of this year’s award. You’ve certainly earned it, and I want to thank you for sharing it with all of us.”
Everyone clapped as Blake accepted accolades from his teacher, but when Blake thanked Gavin for teaching him and his friends the beauty and joy found in art before throwing his arms around the artist and giving him a hug, the clapping became cheers.
It took a few moments before Derek could speak though Gordon knew the Ranch owner didn’t mind. Once the room quieted again, Derek said, “It gives me great pleasure to present Blake with this year’s trophy, but before I do, I want to say how incredibly proud I am of you as well, Blake. Not just for your artistic skill, but for using it to depict your family in a way that instantly tells a story that is the one you all will carry forward forever.” Derek paused and gestured to the drawing. “Can you tell everyone why you chose this theme?”
Gordan’s thoughts went to all the times he'd seen Blake before they'd all come together as a family. First in a courtroom, then, much later, in a grocery store aisle. He saw images of the times he'd seen Blake at the Ranch: in a marble-floored hallway, huddled beneath a bush, telling a story that had haunted him for years, and, finally, sitting on a boulder.
That was not the same young man who stood before him now. This boy’s stance was relaxed, his feet weren’t shuffling as if in preparation to bolt. His smile came easily and reached his eyes as he looked from the man who’d taught him to trust his instincts and just draw to the man who’d given him a chance to find not only himself, but a family before turning to address those who’d gathered to be a part of this moment.
“When most people think of the Musketeers, they think of three, but there were really four. D’Artagnan left his home to find a place where he belonged, just like I did. When he gets to Paris, he joins the Guard, and meets three Musketeers whose names were Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. They were known as ‘The Inseparables’.” He paused to look at where his family stood. “Just like those men, Gordon, Beverly, and Lori were a trio, a family, before I even knew their names. Then Beverly came to the Ranch and became my Mommy. We were happy, but there was something missing. The day when Gordon and Lori came and I saw them all back together, I thought they were just like the men D’Artagnan had met, the three were enough.”
Gordon heard Beverly give a soft cry and squeezed her hand, trusting their boy to tell his story.
“But I was only partially right. I’ve learned that while Mommy did need Gordon and Lori back in her life, she needed me too. They all needed me as much as I need them.” He gestured toward his drawing. “Just as D’Artagnan learned, as four, we are even better together. All for one and one for all.”
The applause continued long after Blake’s story ended. Lori reached him first, and once again, Gordon held out his hand to help their boy up after he’d been bowled over by a li’l bit of a girl he proudly called his sister.
While Gordon shook Gavin’s hand and thanked him for his generosity with all the Littles, Beverly claimed the rights of a Mommy by smothering Blake with hugs and kisses until Erika took her arm and guided her to stand in front of the desk.
“Come along. We need to take the picture for the?—”
“Scrapbook,” Jared supplied, taking Gordon’s arm and moving him to stand beside Lori. “Perfect, Oh, wait. Who’s got the camera?”
Gordon watched as Derek looked over the top of the counter. Gavin walked around it before returning empty-handed. “It’s not there.”
“Listen, I think I hear it coming,” Erika said.
Huh? How did one hear a camera coming?
Gordon had no time to think of an answer before he heard Lori gasp and saw her point. He looked up to see a procession pouring out of the Littles’ Wing. Musketeers of all sizes marched toward them.
“Good lord, I see Littles every single day, but when you put them all together in one place?—”
“It is rather overwhelming,” Jared finished for him.
“As long as I’m not seeing unicorns, turkeys, goats in pajamas, or pigs flying, I’m good,” Derek said.
“Unicorns? Pajamas? Pigs?”
Travis chuckled. “Those are just a few things we’ve been subjected to by Littles who love to play pranks.”
“Be glad you weren’t here to have your perfectly planned menu destroyed by Brussel sprouts disguised as cake pops or milk that is green,” Connor offered with a huff. “A kitchen is a chef’s kingdom, my ass.”
“Don’t worry, if you run out of wooden spoons, I’ll be glad to carve you some more once I’ve got Gordon and Beverly’s house plans drawn,” Colt offered.
“Now that you’ve accepted my offer to stay, I’m sure you’ll witness things you can’t even begin to imagine,” Derek said.
Gordon was having a hard time keeping up and had no clue what in the hell was going on until he yelped and slapped a hand over his forearm.
“Sorry, Daddy, but I didn’t want you to miss it!” Lori exclaimed.
Blake chuckled. “I told you she pinches, Daddy.”
Gordon’s attention was captured again as swords that had been clasped across their chests, most likely to keep Beverly from having to run to the infirmary for bandages, were now lifted high to point toward their audience. It wasn’t until the Littles got closer that he could see that the crest each one had pinned to their chest matched the one in Blake’s drawing.
The crest was divided into four sections that branched from the center. Each individual quadrant contained a name of one of the four depicted in the sketch. In the center, the spines of four letter “Fs” made the arcs of a heart, their arms reached into the center to touch like fingers of hands linking together.
His throat threatened to close. What had started as a horror story became a fairytale worthy of the Brothers Grimm as the Musketeers moved to surround them. He slid his arm around Beverly’s waist, each of them drawing their Littles close as they became the nucleus of a circle composed of what had to be every Little on the Ranch.
He was startled and jumped a bit when suddenly swords raised high to form a canopy over the heads of his family and feet stomped as one in a thunderclap as they came to a halt.
Derek lifted Everly off her feet, before setting her down a bit to the right. “Oops,” she whispered, trying to hold her sword higher by going up on her tiptoes.
“No worries, darlin’,” Derek said, gesturing for Nanny J and Moses to step into the circle now that the path was clear.
Moses was carrying not only the biggest trophy Gordon had ever seen, but one that only went toward proving the people on this Ranch loved All Hallow’s Eve more than any others he knew. Cast in silver, the bottom of the trophy was a broom. A cat that appeared to have fangs sat on the bristles while a witch and a wizard stood side by side on the handle. Each held one wing of the giant bat hovering above a cauldron front and center of the trophy.
Gordon was trying to think of a way to suggest to Blake that a trophy that special deserved a very secret lair, preferably one far away from his Daddy, when Beverly’s elbow dug into his ribs.
“You can breathe,” she whispered. “That stays in the trophy case but now it will also carry a part of our Little boy.”
“How lovely, we can admire it daily,” Gordon said with only a slight hint of sarcasm. He’d seen a trophy case against the wall in the Littles’ Wing, though this trophy hadn’t yet been on one of the shelves. He supposed it had been removed to be inscribed with the current year’s recipient.
“Blake, your name now joins those of other Littles who have shared this moment before you. You are truly a talent and I’m extremely proud to know you,” Nanny J said.
“Thank you.” Blake moved, not to take the trophy, but to hug the woman who Gordon knew was really a softie at heart… sort of like her friend Nurse MacIntosh. The camera miraculously appeared and a photo was taken with Blake now holding the trophy where his name was the most current on the long list engraved on one of the bat’s wings, the date on the other.
Moses shook Blake’s hand.
“What’s he saying, Daddy?” Lori asked as Moses started signing.
“He’s saying he thinks Blake is an even better artist than Leonardo da Vinci.”
“Well, of course he is, he’s my big bro… whoooaaa…” Lori drew out the word as Miss Price and Gavin entered the circle. Gavin was holding a giant pumpkin. “I hope that pumpkin is full of candy,” Lori whisper-shouted.
“Blake, I’m so proud of you,” Miss Price said. “On behalf of all the teachers, Littles, Bigs, submissives, and…”
“Don’t forget the animals!” Though no one turned to see who’d spoken, Gordon learned there was no need.
“Don’t think I don’t recognize that voice, Reese Flint,” Nanny J said, which drew another long, “Whoooaaa” from the Littles as Moses took both her arm and the trophy away to make room for the new presenters.
The preschool teacher smiled warmly at Blake. “Please accept this as a token of our appreciation to have such a talented artist and one of the most loving Little boys we’ve ever known. We are so happy you are a part of our Ranch.”
Gordon had to grab hold of the back of Lori’s pink cape to keep her from face planting as she strained to see what the pumpkin contained when Blake lifted the top off.
“Oh wow, thank you,” he said, the pleasure obvious in his tone and the hugs he gave both teachers, the pumpkin making it a bit awkward but no less heartfelt.
When the camera was lifted again, Lori’s, “That’s not candy,” had Gordon chuckle.
“It is to your brother,” Beverly said as Blake held up only a small portion of the art supplies the pumpkin held.
Once it was Derek’s turn again, his smile took in everyone in the room. “On behalf of those who have come to Rawhide Ranch, be they two-legged or four?—”
“Feathered or furry.” When heads turned to find the one brave enough to interrupt Master Derek, Gordon was surprised to see it wasn’t any Little. This man wasn’t a Musketeer but was definitely a cowboy. He grinned as shrugged. “Figured if my Little girl is brave enough to mention her babies, well, what’s a Daddy to do but support her.”
“Duly noted, and, Reese, darlin, consider your sentence commuted,” Derek said.
“Thank you, Master Derek, and Blake, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to butt in.”
“That’s okay, Reese, we wouldn’t be a Ranch without all the animals,” Blake said. His remark was echoed by the Littles until Derek cleared his throat, drawing their attention again.
“This is meant for not only Blake, but all four of you. You’ve followed the path of others who’ve found the same dream you, Gordon, Beverly, Lori and Blake have discovered. We all want to say welcome and to remind you, that F does not stand for failure, it stands for…”
“Family Forever!”
Gordon felt the promise as he looked at the faces in the circle with him as dozens of voices called out the two words that meant… everything. He drew Beverly to him, swiping a thumb across her cheek to wipe a tear away.
“This is all so sweet and I’m really, really glad we are now a family of about a million,” Lori said, her hands planted on her hips, “but seriously, where’s the mummy dogs?”
The End